why Michigan basketball is in a decline

For thee past decade Michigan boys basketball has been on a steady decline. Many people inside of Michigan refuse to accept it. When is the last time Michigan High School or Travel teams were known as a national power ? Part of the blame fall soley on MHSAA and its member schools and coaches. The rules in Michigan prevent kids from getting national exposure, no televised games and no all- star games (ridiculous).  Schools in Michigan have repeatedly hired incompetent and unethical coaches just to say we won our district or league. Lastly coaches in Michigan seem to only recruit they don't believe in player development I have been in several high school practices over the past 3 years and i see little to no skill development. Next the travel basketball in Michigan is a Case of the haves and have nots there is no other way to put it. If you aren't chosen to play for one of the 3 sponsored programs in Michigan you are deemed as an inferior talent. Here is the problem with that none of those 3 teams have players from one of the biggest talent pools in the country "Detroit" 2 of them ( mustangs/family) don't target players in Detroit and the other(Dorian's Pride) just simply can't get kids from Detroit. Now I will say this part of the reason players from Detroit aren't being targeted is history, in the past the majority of them weren't able to qualify for scholarships. I tend to believe that is 75% the players fault and 25% the coach and travel team's fault. How do you as a high school coach allow a kid to get thee bare minimum 2.0 just to be eligible for high school and on thee other hand how as a travel team do you take a team full of kids that are barely passing all over the country just to win a few games. What we have to realize is there is a domino effect. everything comes down to dollars/ Colleges aren't going to spend money to come see you play in high school or come visit you in your living room until they know you are going to qualify., and perception is southeast Michigan players won't qualify. So we need to  prepare our kids for college and MHSAA has to allow kids to get the national exposure that players from other states get.

Elite 75 prep Showcase Review

There was plenty of talent at this event , but as always there are some  kids that just make a lasting impression on you. Everyone was very aware of Kennedy Meeks PF ( West Charlotte High  2013) and Sindaius Thornwell SG  ( Lancaster, SC 2013) but the most impressive kid in the building this past weekend was Dwayne Morgan SF ( Baltimore City High 2014) he had that rare mixture of size talent and agression that every coach is in search of. This kid was able to defend every position on the floor and on the offensive end play 1-4. He reminds of a Rudy Gay type player but with the aggression of Dwayne Wade every thing that came off the glass he either tried to tip dunk or get the rebound. I haven't seen a kid this young at this size with the ability to handle the ball in a long time. Whoever gets the kids will definitely extend there coaching career by a few years. Other standout  players at the event were

Corey Kellem PG  Magna Vista High School  Martinsville, Virginia  Class 2015
Zandre Givens  PG York Chester High School  Gastonia, North Carolina Class 2015
Markel Pollard SG United Faith Christian Charlotte, North Carolina Class 2014
Trey Foster PG/SG West Charlotte High  Charlotte, Noth Carolina Class 2014
Austin Harris PG West Charlotte High Charlotte, North Carolina Class 2014
Quincy Issaca Wing Nottingham High School Syracuse, New York Class 2015
Derrick Brocks PG Detroit Westside Christian Academy Detroit, Michigan Class 2014
Shabazz Atkins SG Hereford High School Parkton, Maryland Class 2012
Julius Hamilton SG Kennedy Charter School Charlotte, North Carolina Class 2013
Lakeith Ingram Wing Hartsville High School Hartsville, South Carolina Class 2014
LAbryan Shiflett SF Greer High School Greer, South Carolina Class 2013
Jaylen Hinton PG Trinity School Richmond, Virgina Class 2013

Tino Thomas highlight

National Disgrace ( Plight of the inner city athelete)

I am sure by now everyone has either seen or heard about the documentary " National Disgrace" highlighting the many problems in DPS (Detroit Public Schools ). We have all known that for years children were just passed along to the next grade in most major cities school districts not just Detroit. That is why there are so many " Playground Legends" in Detroit, Chicago, New York and Atlanta. Top talent from these cities more often than not can not make it in college. I have talked with several colleges over the past two years and they will tell you we don't even waste time recruiting those districts because they can't adapt to the college life. So as a former inner city athlete I challenge the High School and travel coaches to really tighten up on there athletes. NCAA has basically made it impossible for you to get into college on scholarship with the bottom of the barrel eligibility standards that the schools have put into place. So lets all do our part stop allowing these kids to give little to no effort, don't bring them up believing that they will get a chance to make up an assignment that they just ignored or chose not to do. Let's no go to the teachers and ask them to change a kids grade so that he can help us win because most on the time the kid will end up loosing.

Detroit Spartans 14U highlights

This is why I feel that the Spartans have the best, fastest and most aggressive back court in the state. Just look at this video and funny thing is half of these kids are 13U.

http://youtu.be/qLsGrlTMhIg

The Silent Storm ( Cedric Moten) Flint Southwestern academy 2015 Travel Team: Detroit Spartans

The Detroit Spartans (14U) have quietly assembled the most talented back court in Michigan. They are a fast and aggressive unit if you play soft or are afraid of contact they will expose you. I believe the piece that took them to new heights is the addition of Cedric Moten (Flint Southwestern class of 2015) he may not be as flashy and explosive as the rest of the guard on the Detroit Spartans but he has been the most consistent.  I have watched this team play about 10 games this year and every time they need a basket or a stop it is most likely Cedric Moten that comes thru for them. The team can go 5 deep with guards and all 5 of them would start on most national travel teams, so it is refreshing to see kids with this much talent play together as a team. Every time a team tries to play a zone defense to take away the speed and strength of the guards I have seen Cedric Moten leak out to the perimeter and began to knock down 3 pointers with consistency. If there is a down side to Moten it is his tendency to reach instead of sliding his feet. I personally feel he is in the top 10 players statewide and I am sure the Flint high school coaches won’t disagree. So this summer look for the Detroit Spartans to make a run at several national events. I spoke with the Head Coach DeShawn Bean and he assured me by this summer people will be very aware of these kids, he has purposely cut back on the amount of games the team is playing this spring to give them time to gel and give his bigs time to develop and be ready to contribute to the team. As of right now I would project Cedric Moten as a mid-major prospect but he definitely has the potential for the big time.

Michigan VS Illinois Border Battle

The battle for bragging rights is here. These two states have put out some of the best players in history   Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas. So the rivalry is heating up again this Saturday May 7th  Illinois Flames, Illinois Prymetyme,Detroit Spartans and Michigan Hurricanes are some of the teams that have already committed. This even will only have 1 age group 17U so there will be alot of top talent in the gym. Two of the best point guards in the country will be going at each other with Fred Van Bleet ( Illinois Prymetyme) and Jonathan Campbell ( Detroit Spartans) showing off there skills. For more info on the event or to register your team contact . Coach Shawn 248-238-4822 or Coach Doc 815-608-5100